The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement
for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen
at the mouth of the river Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading
settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary. The
earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the
corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the
Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent
community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income
formed the basis for the city's
